National Early Warning Score (NEWS).
A standardised track-and-trigger system for acute illness in people presenting to, or within hospitals. The remit also included the need for recommendations on the urgency of the clinical response required, the clinical competency of the clinical responders and the most appropriate environment for ongoing clinical care, according to the NEWS.
The NEWS, like many existing EWS systems, is based on a simple scoring system in which a score is allocated to physiological measurements already undertaken when patients present to, or are being monitored in hospital. Six simple physiological parameters form the basis of the scoring system:
I respiratory rate
II oxygen saturations
III temperature
IV systolic blood pressure
V pulse rate
VI level of consciousness.
*RED score refers to an extreme variation in a single physiological parameter (ie a score of 3 on the NEWS chart, coloured RED to aid identification and represents an extreme variation in a single physiological parameter). The consensus of the NEWSDIG was that extreme values in one physiological parameter (eg heart rate < 40 beats per minute, or a respiratory rate of < 8 per minute or a temperature of < 35°C) could not be ignored and on its own required urgent clinical evaluation.
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